This is a detailed review of an in-depth action research training model and an investigation of how that model, supported through virtual and personal guidance from an academic researcher, served to impact the instructional practice of a small sample of school library media specialists (SLMSs). The researcher operates in the third dimension,…

Cooking, sewing, baby-sitting, and storytelling are all units included in Family and Consumer Science classes. This article describes a lesson designed by a consumer science teacher to incorporate media skills into some of these units. The library media specialist and the classroom teacher collaborated on the development of the instructional…

This article describes the experiences of a sixth-grade language arts class that participated in a research and portfolio-writing exercise using the school library media center. Students in this class learned that organization and process are central to the completion of a successful research project. After learning various note-taking strategies…

Based on a study by Cox (2004), this article deals with the needs of students with visual, hearing, and orthopedic impairments in terms of full access to school library media centers. Fictitious vignettes of student concerns as well as possible answers and thought-provoking questions expand Cox's rural Missouri-based study to a much wider audience…

Using an authentic assessment approach, two California State University, Fullerton, faculty members developed instructional strategies in support of an assignment that requires students to situate their families within a historical framework. We describe our efforts to provide students with the research skills to successfully complete the…

This column is a collaborative effort by library media specialists who write about the motivational strategies that have worked for them. Motivational strategies include ways to gain and sustain attention, increase relevance for learning information literacy skills, build confidence in students' developing research abilities, and promote a…

Web 2.0, the term coined for the next generation Web, moves the Internet from being simply web sites and search engines to a shared network space that offers students a place to publish and broadcast their own writing, collaborate on projects, and engage in conversations. Students with their mobile and non-mobile devices are always online and…

Now that "everything is on the Net," what are the roles of K-12 libraries and librarians in a digital-age learning environment? School library media specialists (SLMSs) work with classroom instructors and learners throughout the educational process: from curriculum development to unit/module/lesson plan development and delivery, integrating…

The overall purpose of this article is to describe the history, growth and development of school libraries in Turkey from 1923 to 2004. For now and the foreseeable future, school librarians will be simultaneously working in the library of yesterday and deeply affected by the library of tomorrow. Changing information needs make it necessary to…

Instructional Systems Design (ISD) is the systematic development of instructional strategies that are grounded in both learning and instructional theory. ISD is usually overlooked as a useful methodology in K-12 schools. ISD is extremely expensive in terms of the time required to develop instruction, and it often seems more appropriate as an…

"As good as we are, we can always get better." At first thought, one might dismiss it as the chant of an overly optimistic cheerleader. As one really begins to think about it, though, this seemingly simplistic message is one everyone should strive for daily. But how does one get better? It does not simply happen by sitting isolated in the school…

The 65% Solution seems to be in the news on education these days. Some governors have endorsed it, a growing number of legislators are trying to legislate it, and, in more and more states, petitioners are trying to get it on the ballot. Backers want this initiative to be spread across the nation. In short, this movement hinges on a simple, but…

School library media specialists have four primary responsibilities: teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, and program administrator. As instructional partners, school library media specialists collaborate in designing instruction and learning activities that "reflect the best in current research and practice." Researchers at the…

The "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook" is dedicated to theoretical, empirical, and practical approaches to educational media development. All chapters are invited and selected based on a variety of strategies to determine current trends and issues in the field. The 2011 edition highlights innovative Trends and Issues in Learning…

Issues 248 through 255 of "Fast Facts" from the Library Research Service present data gleaned from libraries in Colorado and across the nation. Topics addressed in these "Fast Facts" from 2007 include the library labor market, the benefits to libraries of using a statewide courier service, and the results of a patron survey at…